Message from the headteacher

A feature of Highfields School is that it is an inclusive, community school. When, a while ago, a local private school closed, one of the parents became frustrated with me that we had no places for their child who was ‘extremely talented in music’. I tried to explain that, if we have places, we admit children irrespective of their skills, talents, backgrounds, gender, ethnicity and pretty much everything else. Our focus is ensuring that once we have the child, they develop and become brilliant, wellbalanced, principled future members of society.

That’s how we end up with classrooms where the daughter of a lawyer making a very decent living sits next to the son of a parent whose recent redundancy has left them financially bereft. In the classroom next door a Ukrainian child who arrived 6 months ago sits next to a student whose ancestors have been in the area for hundreds of years.

The EveningofTheatrethis week exemplified so much of what ‘inclusive’ in its truest sense means. ‘Who’ people are (gender, class, socioeconomic background etc) becomes irrelevant as each student becomes a company member trying to create something brilliant.

And create something brilliant they definitely did under the inspired leadership of Emily Bonsall and Sian Scattergood. There were so many wonderful moments, but a highlight for me was seeing a close working partnership between a sixth form boy destined for university and a Y9 student who happens to have a disability. With all this talk of ‘toxic masculinity’ currently, I couldn’t help feeling a little emotional as I saw the older, more experienced student lead the younger through the scene (he had obviously directed this lad through the rehearsal process as well, steadily building his levels of skill and confidence). Then a Y7 came out, newly arrived from Ukraine, and danced across the stage with such grace and skill that my heart almost beat out of my chest.

When the junior musical was staged the older performers could have gone home as their work was staged in the first half. But instead, they gathered in a throng at the back of the auditorium and shrieked with laughter at the funny bits and burst into rapturous applause at big finishes. This the inclusivity I have been chasing my whole professional life. Not ‘inclusion at a cost’ where standards are dumbed down in case struggling students are left behind but ‘inclusion as a driver of excellence’ where the depth and difference of student backgrounds actually results in a magical blend which drives everyone forward towards doing something brilliant. I KNOW we are not yet there but even to see glimpses of it is exhilarating for someone like me.

As if my evening couldn’t get any better, a very kind mum bought me a tub of ice-cream for seeing her daughter across the road in the morning (which I see as doing my job, but she felt was ‘over and above’).

In lessons this week I saw a brilliant example of a science teacher driving home an idea (natural selection) through a range of activities including one where they simulated the effectiveness of birds with different shaped beaks in picking up food - the spoonbills won (and therefore survived natural selection).

And finally… Highfields Y11 boys beat Ecclesbourne 5 - 4 in the County Cup to progress to the next round and Y8/9 girls beat Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School 8-7 on pens.

What a week! Time for a quick breather…have a marvellous weekend.

A Marsh, Headteacher